Welcome to Calliope Town! Established in July 2015, our community seeks to capture the simple charm of the Harvest Moon video game series while providing a relaxed, friendly atmosphere for roleplayers. Although we draw inspiration from the games, no prior knowledge is necessary to jump into our little world. If you want, think of us as a slice-of-life roleplay!

Layla ran a brush through her hair almost listlessly. She'd not been quite the same since Ryder had vanished, and she only hoped he was safe somewhere, and happy. She realized these last few weeks of worrying over someone she hadn't seen in months, she'd been neglecting quite a lot of things. Like her job, herself, her house... The only thing she hadn't neglected was her Rollo, who sat next to her, staring adoringly up at her. She reached down and scratched the top of his head and he lolled his tongue out the side of his mouth happily. She smiled at him.

"It's time I get over myself," She said to Rollo, who barked in response. "I have things I need to do... And at least one apology to make." She couldn't even remember what had happened or how it had started, but she had made an ass of herself to Wyatt Logan once upon a time. And when she'd finally realized she'd been an ass, she'd been too embarrassed to go and apologize for it. But she needed to stop putting it off.

Layla grabbed her bag, grabbed a light jacket and slipped on a pair of boots before trudging out of the house, Rollo plodding by her side obediently. As she walked out of the door, she slipped the strap of the bag over her head so the strap ran cross-body and bumped on her left hip. She remembered Wyatt was always a workaholic, and he'd likely be at the ranch by now. So she headed that way, and followed the sounds of the livestock once she reached the ranch. She grabbed Rollo's collar before he could take off running. The last time she'd been around a cow with him, he'd barked at it and scared it away from a young woman trying to pet it.

Rollo grumbled and she kept a hand on him as she walked around the corner of the house to find where the cows were, and hopefully, where Wyatt was. What she wasn't expecting to see was a goat, glaring in her direction, and huffing.

"Ahh... Nice goat," She said, having heard one too many horror stories about goats chasing people off their property. "Gooood goat. Is... Uh... Wyatt around?" She eyed the goat as it glared at her with its creepy slit eyes. Rollo whined and hid behind Layla, and she glared down at him. "Some guard dog you turned out to be..."

Wyatt was most certainly a workaholic. On top of that, he’d always been the “early to bed, early to rise” kind of guy, so he was already well into his morning routine when it was still dim and dewy out. After spending an hour or so in the milking shed and then making sure that all of the livestock were fed, he’d finally started back home for his own breakfast. Soon the young farmhand be getting to his daily chores, and before he knew it it’d be time for the second milking of the day.

It was a never-ending cycle, every day from dawn to dusk – over and over again.

And Wyatt wouldn’t have it any other way.

His was a simple life. He worked hard and made an honest living. The redundancy of it all didn’t bother him in the least; if nothing else it felt safe, stable – as inevitable and predictable as the sun coming up each day.

By now, of course, the sun was well on its way climbing higher into the sky. Wyatt had taken his time walking the dirt road back to his house, and when he caught a glimpse of movement up ahead, he had to lift one hand to shield his eyes against the growing light. Someone was in his yard… and his resident attack-goat appeared to be locked in a stand-off with them.

It wasn’t until he’d come a little closer that Wyatt realized that he knew the “intruder.”

“Astin!” he called out sharply. A reprimand.

Upon hearing his name the goat gave a start, his long ears abruptly cocking forward in surprise – and towards its favorite human. But while he removed his intense, square-pupiled glare from the woman and her dog, the beast didn’t exactly stand down, either. He remained rooted stubbornly to the spot, unwilling to let either of them go any further. The red-haired human had done her best to sweet-talk him, but Astin was no pushover.

He looked back to them with another huff and pawed a single hoof at the ground for emphasis.

Meanwhile Wyatt had picked up the pace, hitting a light jog as he made his way toward the house. The situation wasn’t really urgent, per se. The worst Astin could do was head-butt his perceived trespasser – although that wasn’t exactly a pleasant notion. Wyatt would rather avoid it if at all possible. His brow knitted in annoyance over the whole situation.

It had been ages since he’d seen Layla. And after how their last encounter had gone, he felt it would be less-than-promising to start off on the wrong foot here.

Layla jumped when she heard the shout, which seemed to make the goat calm a little. Not nearly enough for Layla’s comfort, but it was a step in the right direction at least. She didn't miss the look of annoyance on Wyatt’s face as he jogged into view, and Layla’s cursed pale skin, typically, flushed as red as her hair. But then again, she knew this wouldn't be easy, to apologize to him.

“H-Hi Wyatt,” Layla said, stuttering a little in her mortification. “I… Uh… Well…” She stopped when she realized she was too nervous to go on. She glanced back at the goat, Astin apparently, and took a hesitant step forward, towards Wyatt. The goat lowered it's head like it would charge and Layla jolted back a couple steps. “Is… Uhm… He going to try and attack or something?” Layla had been rammed by a goat before. While not life threatening, it was particularly painful and an experience she'd much rather not have again.

Rollo whined and kept his place behind Layla’s legs. He too had had a couple bad experiences with goats and didn't want to mess around with this one. Layla sighed. She needed to get this over with, despite her deep level of embarrassment and nervous jitters. She'd screwed up the last time they had met, and instead of apologizing when she had needed to, she'd put it off like a complete jerk. Her embarrassment had been what caused her to put it off, but she knew it was only a flimsy excuse. Wyatt had been a good friend when they were kids, and she had let their friendship crumble because of one simple remark that, after reflecting on it, likely hadn't even been meant the way she had thought it sounded. She was incredibly touchy about her line of profession, and she needed to learn to stop and think before she spoke. Otherwise, she would lose a friend, like she'd done with Wyatt.

“Look Wyatt… I came to apologize for… For before. When I was… Well I was a complete and utter ass and I'm sorry and pleasedon'tsickyourgoatonmeIbroughtchocolate!” The last part of that sentence all ran together as Astin stepped forward menacingly, and though her face heated up at how fast she blurted that out she still threw her hands up as if to stop the goat from charging. She looked more like someone was holding a gun on her, rather than a goat getting ready to charge at her.

Wyatt had noticed Layla’s blushing the moment he came jogging up (with her face now as red as her hair, it was pretty hard to miss), but he didn’t pay it much mind at the moment. After all, he had an ornery goat to deal with. He ignored her stuttering and stammering for the moment, focusing instead on Astin.

Who proceeded to lower his head in a threat to charge the very moment Layla dared to step forward.

Coming to a halt just short of her, Wyatt raised a hand toward the goat with a sharp grunt of reproach.

That got his attention. He pawed at the ground again, seemingly out of annoyance, and let out a long, wavering bleat.

“He’s a little territorial,” Wyatt remarked flatly. It didn’t really answer Layla’s question, but he had a feeling that she knew what the goat was capable of.

While he was focused on the angry barnyard animal, though, it seemed Layla was nervous about more than simply getting head-butted. When she breathed out a sigh and started to speak again, Wyatt turned to look her way with a vaguely surprised look.

She was… apologizing?

Of course he knew what she was talking about, but he hardly thought he required an apology. If anything, it was the other way around. He should have already done it forever ago. But he was horribly, painfully awkward about apologies, as with many things in life, and he… just never had.

Equally baffling, though, was the fact that Layla chose to do this right in the midst of being threatened by a goat.

Then Astin took a menacing step closer, and the words came spilling out of her in a jumble while she threw up her hands defensively, as if expecting a charge. Gritting his teeth, Wyatt stepped forward, placing himself between the two of them.

Three, counting poor Rollo.

“Cool it, buddy,” he spoke to the goat in a rather dry but decidedly firm voice.

A few steps brought him closer, and he reached out to grab the creature by one horn – a playful gesture that wasn’t nearly as rough as it probably looked. Astin was a hard-headed thing, anyway. Wyatt kept a grip on him as he turned to glance back at Layla.

“Here. Come say hi to him.” He said it as straight-faced as you please, as if she hadn’t just practically flipped out. “He’ll be more comfortable if he knows you’re a friend.”

Wyatt hadn’t forgotten about the apology, of course, but it would be a lot easier to talk if he wasn’t worried about having to wrangle his “guard dog.”

"I can tell," Layla said, watching the goat as it tried to kick her out of its territory. If it wasn't for Wyatt, she thought she'd have been impaled by his horns just then. Maybe now was a bad time for her apology, but then again, she'd already started it. While she might not have a lot of sense, she did know when to hold off for a bit. But when Wyatt said to come closer, to pet the goat, she just stared for a moment.

"I don't think he wants to be friends," she said. She was happy Wyatt wasn't just letting him rush at her. Maybe it meant he didn't completely hate her for exploding on him that one time. But Wyatt was standing in between them, trying to protect her from that devil goat, and she had come to apologize, after all. What better way than to make friends with a... Goat.

Layla, despite her words, stepped forward towards Astin. He didn't make another threatening move, but she felt like his glare intensified the closer she got to him and Wyatt. "Hey there, Astin," Layla said, using her best calming voice she would use on Rollo when he was scared of the thunder and was hiding under a table or couch. "I'm just here to say hi to Wyatt. Is that okay?" She held out her hand as if to let him sniff it, like a dog would want to. Did goats smell people? She had no idea.

After a long, hesitant moment, she reached out to rub her fingers over his ears, scratching behind one the way that Rollo liked her to do. "See? I'm not bad." She was starting to relax now that Astin didn't seem to be trying to ram her. She didn't much feel like getting attacked today. She glanced up at Wyatt and smiled. "Okay so maybe you were right. He's not trying to bite me or anything, anyway."

When Layla voiced her doubt, Wyatt just gave her a flat look. Astin probably didn’t want to make friends at the moment, but that was because she – a stranger – had come waltzing up to the house like she owned the place. That was how he imagined the goat saw things, anyway. He’d always had something of an attitude.

Although in Wyatt’s experience that was true of most all goats.

Despite her reluctance, though, Layla did come forward. She spoke in a soft voice as she approached the two of them. Meanwhile Wyatt kept a hand on one of Astin’s horns – just in case. He could feel him tensing up a little as the unfamiliar human approached, but fortunately he didn’t buck or try to pull away. When Layla tentatively extended a hand toward him, he merely blinked a couple of times, silent, and allowed her to reach behind his ear.

Astin didn’t seem to respond at first, but once she’d been scratching for a second he bobbed his head, as if to show his approval, and let out a low, murmuring noise. Wyatt noticed that he no longer felt so rigid in his grasp. Probably because Layla had managed to relax. Animals had a way of sensing apprehension, after all.

“There’s uh… still a chance of that,” Wyatt informed her, rather casually, in response to her remark about getting bitten. “Just watch your fingers.”

Friends of Astin’s were often friends because they came bearing food for the billy goat. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he started nosing around her hands in search of a treat of some kind. And although he appeared to have calmed down enough for him to not worry about restraining him, Wyatt kept a hand resting gently on his head, ready to grab him by the horns if he got too feisty.

Now that he was no longer threatening his company, though, the farm-hand realized that he’d need to address what she was saying before. All of the… apology stuff.

“What you were saying before,” he began gradually, unsure of where he was headed just yet. His gaze dropped to Astin, and he busied himself stroking the bristly fur on the goat’s head. “There’s no need. You’re… not the one who should be apologizing.”

That person, obviously, should be him.

And yet he wasn’t. Not yet.

Wyatt could never claim to have a way with words, but with topics like this he felt all the more ungainly. As much as he truly was sorry for what he’d said that day, it was hard to just… come out and say that. To put it so simply didn’t seem enough to him, but he wasn’t one for a thought-out, heartfelt apology either. And even if he tried that, there was no way something so sappy would sound genuine coming from him. He was somewhat self-aware of his own… un-emotional-ness.

So for now he just focused on petting his goat and hoped that maybe Layla would have something to say to fill the awkward silence while he searched for the words.

"Oh..." Layla eyed Astin as if he was going to just turn his head and bite her hand. But he didn't move, except to bob his head up and down, seemingly happy with the ear scratches. She relaxed the rest of the way, finding it enjoyable to scratch the goat behind his ears. He seemed a little less irritated with a person strolling up on the property.

When Wyatt began talking again, Layla felt her stomach twist. At first, she thought he was going to tell her he didn't want an apology, he just wanted her to leave. She didn't take her eyes off of Astin, who's own eyes were closed in proverbial goat bliss. Layla was trying to get herself ready for the rejection, knew it was entirely possible. She had known before she'd even come out here, and had been braced for it. She wouldn't blame him for not wanting to accept her apology. It wasn't until his next comment about how she shouldn't be the one apologizing that she finally looked at Wyatt, confused and surprised.

"Of course I do, Wyatt. I... I yelled at you. You'd just made a comment and I... Well exploded is the only term that comes to mind." She sighed as Astin started sniffing at her pockets, and absently she pulled out a small wad of herbs from her pocket. Astin sniffed at them for a moment before taking them and chewing them up, looking oddly pleased with himself. Or, was that just a normal goat face? She usually kept those herbs for the cows, since it helped them produce milk, but it was good for digestion for all animals, and even humans too. So she knew it wouldn't hurt the goat. Plus if it kept him from attacking her, she wouldn't complain.

"Everyone questions what I do," Layla said with a sigh. "It's hard, having people question what I do every time I leave my house to go see them and treat their wounds or illnesses. That doesn't give me the right to yell at my friends just because they made a comment too."

He had expected her to react in that way – to continue trying to shoulder the blame herself. But when Layla insisted that she did owe him an apology, Wyatt found himself unable to formulate a response. Other than to form his mouth in a tight little frown, anyway. While she certainly had “exploded” as she called it, the way he figured, it was justified. After all, it was just as she said: she had enough people questioning her work. The last thing she needed was someone who was supposed to be her friend doing it, too.

She thought she was in the wrong yelling at him. For Wyatt, though, she’d been well within reason to do so. He knew Layla well enough to know that saying something like that would bother her – and knew her well enough to be familiar with that quick temper of hers. He’d deserved whatever outcome he got.

How did he say that, though?

Staring down at the top of Astin’s head, Wyatt drew in a steadying breath. They he lifted his eyes to meet Layla’s, his expression not particularly… expressive but earnest all the same.

Astin seemed happy with his little ball of herbs, and after a few moments more of head scratching, he seemed to decide that Layla was good people, and wandered off. Layla felt awkward again, more so than she had before, because she suddenly didn't have anything to do with her hands. Rollo wandered up as soon as the goat was gone, and plopped down next to Layla, lifting a paw up for Wyatt. His tongue lolled out one side of his mouth, and Layla side eyed him.

"Where were you when the goat was attacking me?" She questioned the dog. She didn't get a response, save for a twitch of an ear in her direction. She sighed, and glanced back at Wyatt when he spoke again. Her eyebrows raised a little bit as his admission. That was almost an apology, She thought, and felt a little guilty. Why would he have to apologize to her? But then again... He had been a bit of an ass.

"Well, I won't say you weren't... But I still shouldn't have yelled at you."

She glanced down at Rollo again, trying to figure out what to say next. She was at a loss. But it seemed like he wasn't mad at her. Had they both just been too embarrassed to apologize to each other this entire time? Goddess save me, I'm a fool.

She looked up at Wyatt with a shy smile, and stuck out a hand in a peace offering. "How about... We just start over? Maybe pretend it never happened?"

After having a snack, Astin seemed content to go about his own business, and soon Wyatt felt him slipping out from underneath his hand. The goat wandered off with his fluffy little tail swinging behind him, leaving the two of them standing there all on their own.

Except for Rollo, of course.

Wyatt had all but forgotten about the dog after he’d cowered in the face of his attack-goat. It seemed that he’d only resurfaced now that the threat was gone: a fact which Layla was quick to call him out on. His only response was to twitch one ear at her, grinning a doggy grin as he lifted a forepaw in a friendly gesture.

Ever-receptive to animals, Wyatt didn’t hesitate before stooping down to give him a brief “handshake.” He still had his paw gripped in one hand when Layla spoke again, though, and he held it there for a moment, as if in thought.

She wasn’t disagreeing with him… but oddly enough, he felt relieved to hear that. It felt like progress, he supposed. He was being honest here, and she was open to admitting what she felt were her own mistakes. Frankly, he still found the whole yelling thing justified, but at the same time it seemed like they’d be in an infinite loop of “no, it was my fault” if he didn’t let it go.

After taking a second to ruffle Rollo’s ears, Wyatt rose up to full height again… only to find another hand sticking out for him. But this time it was Layla’s. She was suggesting a restart of sorts – pretend it never happened. A peace offering of sorts.

Wyatt merely blinked at her for a beat or two, surprise registering in his normally stoic expression.

But then he reached out to grasp her hand (gently as he could manage, of course) and shake it in agreement.

“Pretend what never happened?” he asked her, casually as you please.

Contrary to popular belief, Wyatt could – at very rare times – show just a hint of having a sense of humor.

Layla watched Wyatt as he knelt in front of Rollo, taking his big paw in one hand and pumping it a couple of times. Rollo's tail began to sweep back and forth, causing a little cloud of dust from the dry ground to puff up underneath his tail. When Wyatt dropped his paw and went to scratch between his ears, Rollo let out what could only be described as a doggy groan of pleasure. Layla rolled her eyes.

"He acts like I never pay attention to him," She said.

When he finally stood, and looked at her hand, Layla didn't miss the beat of surprise that flicked across his face. She wasn't sure if she'd made the right move, at least not until his large hand clasped her small one, and they shook briefly. His words, said with that stoic expression he always wore, made her blink slowly until it registered that he was actually making a joke. Her eyes glittered with amusement, and her smile grew from shy to happy, and she let out a soft laugh.

"Hmm? You know, I don't remember. I seemed to have forgotten what we were talking about." She grinned at him, and Rollo wiggled his way in between them, hoping for more attention. Layla let go of Wyatt's hand, looking down at her needy dog with a snort. She dropped her hand on his head and scratched between his ears, and he sighed in doggy joy.

She glanced up at Wyatt, giving him another smile. "How about we meet for drinks or something later?" She suggested. "Make up for lost time and all. When you aren't busy here, of course. Running a ranch can't be easy with all those animals to watch after."

Wyatt halfway wondered if maybe his jest had fallen flat. But after a beat or two, an unmistakable glimmer of amusement appeared in Layla’s eyes, and she laughed, playing along with it. Shortly thereafter, though, Rollo came wriggling in-between the two of them, evidently still starved for attention, and Wyatt ended the handshake to step back and allow the dog’s owner to humor him with a scratch behind the ears.

When she spoke again, it was to extend an invitation – to meet up for drinks or something. When he wasn’t busy with farm work, of course.

“Sounds like a plan,” Wyatt drawled in reply, unsurprisingly not brimming with excitement about the prospect but nevertheless approving. It would be nice to sit somewhere and drink. Catch up on things and such.

But then something occurred to him.

“By the way, what was that you were saying before?” he asked her, raising one eyebrow ever-so-slightly. “Something about chocolate?”

Although he’d scarcely been able to process what she was saying when she started blurting things out, he had been able to pick up on that much.

And it was only natural that he’d hear all of that and pick up on “chocolate” out of everything that was muddled together. Although he tried to be low-key about it, Wyatt had a serious sweet-tooth. And Layla knew it.

He was left wondering if perhaps there’d been some sort of apology treats thrown into the mix, here.

Layla was happy Wyatt agreed to go have a drink with her after work that night. She knew he wasn't terribly fond of crowds and wasn't certain if he'd agree at all, but he seemed agreeable enough, if not exactly happy about the prospect. “You could always show up with a bottle of something at the house too. You're always welcome.” She smiled, giving him an out in case he didn't want to go sit in the bar. Honestly she didn't really care either way, the bar would be less formal than her house, but it would also be noisy and harder for them to catch up.

As Wyatt stepped back to give her room to love on Rollo, she tilted her head at his question about chocolate. What was he-

“Oh! I completely forgot,” she said, letting out a soft laugh. She knew about Wyatt’s legendary sweet tooth, and had bargained that if her apology didn't work, maybe bribery would. It turned out it wasn't needed, but she had made it specifically for him for White Day, but hadn't been able to bring it until a day late. It was still good at least.

“I made it for you for Valentine's Day,” she explained as she drew it from her bag and held up the large brownie, filled with chocolate chips and drizzled with chocolate sauce over the top. She flushed a little and gave him a smile. “I was going to bring it yesterday as a bribe to get you to forgive me, but I had an emergency call come in and didn't get home until about four this morning. I barely got a two hour nap before heading over here. I don't need it as a bribe anymore, but I did make it for you, so I hope you like it.”

She held it out, arms up as Rollo’s eyes were suddenly fixated on the treat. “Down, Rollo,” she said to the overly excitable husky, who only wagged his tail in response and kept staring at the brownie.

Although it didn’t exactly bleed through to the surface, Wyatt’s interest was most definitely piqued. It showed at least somewhat in the way that he shifted on his feet, evidently eager about the prospect. However, when Layla revealed the specific ~reason~ behind the gift, the anticipation promptly turned into surprise. He blinked at her a couple of times as it dawned on him.

This wasn’t just any chocolate they were talking about here. It wasn’t even simply bribery chocolate. This was Valentine’s chocolate.

Of course Wyatt was aware of the general customs surrounding the holiday. Women were known to give treats to pretty much any male in their lives, from friends to family members to co-workers and everything in-between. But for a young single girl to give something to a young single guy…

Well, it didn’t necessarily mean anything at all, but an outside observer might draw some sort of conclusion there. Granted, it wasn’t really something Wyatt thought himself. As far as he was aware, the two of them were friends and nothing more. However, the notion of it all nevertheless left him feeling a tad awkward, and his lips pulled into a sort of thoughtful frown. But with Layla standing there holding up the gift (being sure to keep it away from Rollo as he did so), Wyatt’s surprise subsided after a beat or two, and his eyes tracked down from her face to what she was holding:

A brownie with jam-packed with chocolate chips and drizzled in chocolate sauce. Triple chocolate.

Wyatt licked his lips. Whether he did so thoughtfully or at the mere prospect of the treat would have been difficult to say. His eyes shifted back up to Layla.

“You really didn’t have to do that,” he told her, very seriously.

But while he said this, he evidently had no qualms about reaching out to receive the treat. And it wasn’t like he could turn it down, right? Especially not after she’d put so much work into it.

That was what he was telling himself, anyway.

Soon enough, though, something else dawned on him.

“Hey, wait a minute…” The words drew out long as the gears continued turning in his head. “You were gonna try to bribe me with chocolate? You think it’s that simple?”

As per usual, the look on his face was absolutely flat, but there was something about it – a subtle quirk of the eyebrows, a little glimmer in his eyes – that hinted amusement.

Layla Murphy (I actually remembered to tag you this time omg wow I know right xDDD)

Layla tilted her head, a little confused by the surprised look on his face after she told him it was valentines day chocolate. It didn't even dawn on her at the time of her saying it, she'd made a few people chocolate, the few friends she'd had in town. When it finally did click, though, her face flamed in embarrassment. "I- I just... We were such good friends before that I wanted to show you that I still thought of you as a good friend, that's all," She said, incredibly embarrassed.

When he licked his lips as he saw the treat, though, some of Layla's embarrassment had faded. She would have to be stupid to have forgotten how much he liked sweets, and she smiled at the look on his face.

"I know I didn't," She said. "But I wanted to." She smiled again when he looked away from the treat and back at her, despite his serious look. "I remember how much you like sweets."

When he took it, she dropped her hands and took a little step back, nudging Rollo away as she did so. His next comment had her lips twitching, but she forced herself to keep a straight face. "Well, I seem to recall it working in the past, so..." She lifted a hand, tapping it on her bottom lip as if thinking really hard for a moment. "Yeah. I thought it would be that easy." She flashed him a grin, then let the laugh bubble out a moment later.

"I didn't think it would hurt matters, at least," She said after her laugh. "And I'd have given it to you regardless of what happened here, since I'd made it for you. I'm just glad it all ended well."

Layla glanced at her watch and gave a little sigh. She didn't have a lot of time, as she had a patient she needed to get to in town in half an hour. She wished she could stay and talk a little longer, but she knew Wyatt needed to get back to work himself soon too. Plus, she wasn't so certain that Astin would appreciate her staying for too long, anyway.

"I've got to run, I have a patient waiting for me in town. But if you want to drop by sometime with a bottle of something so we can catch up just come on over. I'm usually not busy after six or so." She snapped her fingers and Rollo's ears pricked. He stood and padded over next to her, obedient for once. He was generally a good dog, but got a little excited. She glanced back at Wyatt with a smile and gave him a wave.

"I'll catch you later, then!" She said, and turned to jog towards town, not wanting to be too late.